AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT: In-Depth Review

For the last couple of generations, AMD has been striving to compete with Nvidia at the high end. Now, with the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT, Team Red has shifted focus from the ultra-high-end dominated by the RTX 5090 to delivering the best graphics card for the majority of gamers – a goal it achieves remarkably well.

The AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT, priced at $599, goes head-to-head with the $749 GeForce RTX 5070 Ti, establishing itself as one of the top GPUs available today. AMD enhances its appeal with FSR 4, introducing AI upscaling to its graphics cards for the first time. This makes the Radeon RX 9070 XT an excellent choice for 4K gaming, especially for those not willing to spend $1,999 on the RTX 5090.

Purchasing Guide

The AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT will be available starting March 6, priced at $599. However, be aware that prices may vary due to third-party cards, which could be more expensive. Aim to find one under $699, if possible.

AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT – Photos

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Specs and Features

The AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT is built on the RDNA 4 architecture, which brings significant improvements to its shader cores and introduces new RT and AI Accelerators. The AI Accelerators are crucial for FidelityFX Super Resolution 4 (FSR 4), marking the debut of AI upscaling in AMD graphics cards. While FSR 4 doesn't necessarily boost frame rates compared to FSR 3.1, it significantly enhances image quality. For those prioritizing frame rates, the Adrenalin software offers a toggle to disable FSR 4.

AMD has also optimized its shader cores, leading to better per-core performance. Despite having fewer Compute Units (64) than the previous Radeon RX 7900 XT (84), the RX 9070 XT delivers a substantial generational leap at a more affordable price. Each Compute Unit contains 64 Streaming Multiprocessors, totaling 4,096, along with 64 ray accelerators and 128 AI accelerators.

However, the Radeon RX 9070 XT has less memory than its predecessor, featuring 16GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus, compared to 20GB on a 320-bit bus. This reduction affects both capacity and bandwidth, though it remains sufficient for most 4K gaming scenarios. The new architecture is more efficient, yet the RX 9070 XT requires a slightly higher power budget of 304W compared to the 7900 XT's 300W, though in testing, the 7900 XT consumed more power.

Cooling the RX 9070 XT is manageable, with a standard power budget for modern graphics cards. AMD does not offer a reference design, leaving the market to third-party manufacturers. The Powercolor Radeon RX 9070 XT Reaper, with its compact triple-fan design, maintained a temperature of 72°C during testing.

The card uses standard power connectors, requiring two 8-pin PCI-E connectors, and comes with three DisplayPort 2.1a and one HDMI 2.1b ports. While a USB-C port would enhance flexibility, the current setup meets expectations for modern graphics cards.

FSR 4

For years, AMD has sought an AI upscaling solution to rival DLSS. The Radeon RX 9070 XT introduces FSR 4, powered by AI accelerators within the Compute Units. FSR 4 analyzes previous frames and game engine data to upscale lower-resolution images to native resolution, offering superior image quality over FSR 3's temporal upscaling, albeit with a slight performance hit.

In Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 at 4K Extreme settings, the Radeon RX 9070 XT achieved 134 fps with FSR 3.1 on "Performance" mode, but this dropped to 121 fps with FSR 4, a 10% performance loss with improved image quality. Similarly, in Monster Hunter Wilds at 4K max settings with FSR 3 and ray tracing, the card delivered 94 fps, but this fell to 78 fps with FSR 4, a 20% drop.

Despite the performance trade-off, FSR 4's enhanced image quality is beneficial for single-player games where visuals are paramount. FSR 3.1 remains available, and FSR 4 can be toggled off in the Adrenalin software for those preferring higher frame rates.

AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT & 9070 – Benchmarks

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Performance

AMD's Radeon RX 9070 XT, priced at $599, undercuts the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070 Ti by 21% yet outperforms it by 2% on average. Despite some games favoring the RTX 5070 Ti, the RX 9070 XT's performance is impressive, especially at 4K, where it maintains its lead, making it an excellent choice for entry-level 4K gaming, even with ray tracing enabled.

Testing was conducted using the latest drivers available. Nvidia cards were tested with Game Ready Driver 572.60, except for the RTX 5070, which used review drivers. AMD cards were tested on Adrenalin 24.12.1, with the Radeon RX 9070 XT and RX 9070 using pre-release drivers provided by AMD.

In 3DMark benchmarks, the 9070 XT outpaces the 7900 XT by 18% in Speed Way, though it trails the RTX 5070 Ti by the same margin. In Steel Nomad, the performance gap widens to 26% over the Radeon RX 7900 XT, and the 9070 XT even surpasses the RTX 5070 Ti by 7%.

Test System

In Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, the Radeon RX 9070 XT leads the GeForce RTX 5070 Ti by 15%, while in Cyberpunk 2077, the RTX 5070 Ti edges out with a 5% lead, despite the significant price difference. In Metro Exodus at 4K without upscaling, the RX 9070 XT matches the RTX 5070 Ti's performance, showing a 24% improvement over the last-generation Radeon RX 7900 XT.

Red Dead Redemption 2 highlights the RX 9070 XT's Vulkan performance, achieving 125 fps compared to the RTX 5070 Ti's 110 fps. However, in Total War: Warhammer 3, the RX 9070 XT falls 13% behind the RTX 5070 Ti. In Assassins Creed Mirage, the RX 9070 XT reclaims its lead, outperforming the RTX 5070 Ti by 12%.

The RX 9070 XT's most notable victory is in Black Myth Wukong, where it achieves 70 fps at 4K with the Cinematic Preset and FSR at 40%, compared to the RTX 5070 Ti's 65 fps. In Forza Horizon 5, the RX 9070 XT slightly outperforms the RTX 5070 Ti, demonstrating its competitive edge.

Announced quietly at CES 2025, the Radeon RX 9070 XT feels like AMD's strategic move against Nvidia's Blackwell graphics cards. At $599, it represents a return to sensible pricing in the graphics card market. While not as fast as the RTX 5080 or RTX 5090, those cards are overkill for most gamers and significantly more expensive.

The Radeon RX 9070 XT evokes memories of the GTX 1080 Ti, the last great flagship graphics card priced at $699 in 2017. While the 9070 XT doesn't claim the title of the fastest consumer card, it stands as the first worthy flagship since then, offering exceptional value and performance for the majority of gamers.